Covid 19 Coronavirus: Scary new viral side effect is emerging

A “fit and healthy” man developed permanent hearing loss after being infected with the coronavirus. Researchers said the worrisome new side effect needed careful study.

The case report published in the British Medical Journal revealed that the 45-year-old Briton was in good shape and only suffered from asthma before testing positive for Covid-19.

On the 10th day of diagnosis, he was admitted to the hospital, where he was put on a ventilator after having difficulty breathing.

He developed several medical complications, including pneumonia and blood clots. Doctors treated him with steroids, a plasma infusion, and the drug remdesivir – the same drug used to treat Donald Trump when he had coronavirus.

The man recovered and was taken off his ventilator. Then he found that he couldn’t hear anything from his left ear.

Tests confirmed that he had become permanently deaf in his left ear, even though he had no previous hearing problems. Doctors confirmed that the loss was not due to inflammation.

The case report concludes that the hearing loss is likely due to Covid-19 and recommends further research into this possible side effect.

“Despite the small number of studies, it is important to consider the possibility of a relationship between Covid-19 and SSNHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss),” the report said.

“Hearing loss and tinnitus are symptoms that have been seen but not highlighted in patients with Covid-19 and influenza virus,” the BMJ report added.

A study published by JAMA Otolaryngology in July found traces of coronavirus in the ears of two out of three people who had died from the virus.

Hearing loss isn’t the only worrying side effect that coronavirus patients have reported.

A research paper by the Florey Institute published last month found there was growing evidence that the coronavirus is entering the brain and fears that Parkinson’s disease could rise in the coming years.

Florey researcher Leah Beauchamp said that 100 years ago neurological symptoms also appeared with the Spanish flu.

Five years later, the global incidence of Parkinson’s has increased two to three fold worldwide.

People diagnosed with coronavirus have also reported a loss of their sense of smell or taste, with some still not having those senses restored, although it has been months since they recovered.

Back in August, an online survey of 1,500 coronavirus survivors found that more than a quarter of them suffered from hair loss.

Grace Dudley said her hair fell out “in clumps” after contracting Covid-19, and a specialist has since told her that she would “lose most, if not all,”.